Man charged with leaving accident, saying car was stolen

Updated 8:54 pm, Wednesday, March 26, 2014

STAMFORD -- A Stamford man was arrested Tuesday for crashing into two parked cars at a Stillwater Avenue restaurant earlier this month and fleeing, police said.

Walter Ruiz Morales, 37, of 28 Taff Ave., was charged with leaving the scene of an accident, criminal attempt at second-degree forgery, making a false report, driving without a license and traveling too fast for conditions.

Police were called to Restaurant Maya at 11:30 p.m. on March 1 regarding a Toyota 4-Runner that crashed into two vehicles in the restaurant's parking lot.

One of the vehicles was pushed into the foundation of a residential building at 38 Finney Lane. A witnesses told police the passenger in the car and the driver ran from the scene, briefly hid at a nearby construction site and walked away east on Stillwater Avenue.

An hour later, police traced the 4-Runner to its owner, Morales, but were unable to find him on Richmond Place, where the vehicle was registered. About four hours after the accident, Morales came to police headquarters, where he told officers his vehicle had been stolen. Police said Morales smelled of alcohol and his eyes were glassy.

His girlfriend, who accompanied him, said Morales came home at 2:30 a.m. and told her his vehicle had been stolen from Henry Street, where he had been drinking at his mother's house. But Morales could not give a specific address for his mother.

A witness at the scene later identified Morales as the driver of the 4-Runner.